Detention split 'will traumatise baby boy'

By Cynthia BanhamOctober 1 2002

Doctors have condemned the separation of a young mother, who is being held in Villawood detention centre, from her nine-month-old son, saying such practices had long-term effects on infants' mental and physical well-being.

They also claimed it was not an isolated incident with child psychiatry expert Louise Newman revealing she knew of several children in detention affected by disruption of parental relationships.

The Herald reported yesterday the case of an illegal Russian immigrant whose baby boy - who has an Australian father and is himself an Australian citizen - was taken from her while she was still breastfeeding him while she was detained in Villawood.

The 29-year-old woman has had her application for refugee status denied. She faces imminent deportation without her child, as the father does not want him to return to Russia with his mother.

Dr Newman, who chairs the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists' Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, said that doctors were concerned that the implementation of immigration policies were resulting in "appalling attachment disruption and trauma for young children" which had "long-term implications for [a child's] development".");document.write("

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Dr Bijou Blick, a community pediatrics medical officer, said: "[Immigration authorities] are putting this particular family in an impossible situation.

"You're making them have a Solomon's choice, where you're saying this child has to either never see its mother again, or never see its father again."

Meanwhile another doctor has disputed the decision by immigration officials to return a sick asylum seeker, who had been treated at a Brisbane hospital, to the Nauruan detention centre.

The 36-year-old Afghan man, Ali Juma Ahmadi, was flown to Wesley Hospital suffering from back and leg pain a few weeks ago. On Friday Mr Ahmadi, who has blood clots in his stomach and right leg, was cleared to return to Nauru. He was flown back on Sunday, despite having collapsed earlier in the day.

Dr Theo Van Lieshout said yesterday that Mr Ahmadi had been hyperventilating. "Any other person in the same medical circumstances probably wouldn't have been advised to take air travel," he said.